Obama’s Proposed Tax Hikes At Odds With GOP Rivals

President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won’t be resolved until after the November election — if then.

Obama’s proposed tax hikes put him at odds with the Republican presidential hopefuls. They have all called for tax packages that would lower taxes but possibly add to the federal deficit.

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Obama’s 2013 budget proposal calls for a tax reform package that would increase revenue by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Obama says he wants to simplify the tax code, lowering marginal tax rates while eliminating or reducing tax breaks enjoyed by wealthy individuals and U.S.-based multinational corporations.

Obama’s plan would allow Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy to expire at the end of the year, and would impose a new rule that people making more than $1 million a year pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The “Buffett” rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, would replace the alternative minimum tax, which was originally designed to ensure that wealthy families pay at least some tax.

The ATM, however, was never indexed for inflation, so Congress must adjust it each year to prevent it from hitting millions of middle income families.